# History buffs, what do you like to study most? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 18, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811 "2008-12-18T21:36:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/41 "2008-12-19T18:18:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Me too. Does anybody have a book recommendation for delving into Haig’s blunder specifically and/or the whole of trench warfare tactics and strategy in general? WWI is a subject I haven’t read much about. _Haig’s Command: A Reassessment_ by Denis Winter ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/42 "2008-12-19T18:20:25Z")
I love the history of technology, I don’t care about the era. How did the Easter Islanders erect the statues? How did Louis XIV get water pressure to run the Versailles fountains? Why did Busicom give the rights to produce the microprocessor to Intel for practically nothing? If it involves human ingenuity being used to solve problems, I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/43 "2008-12-19T18:48:33Z")
Most everything, really, but I gravitate towards pre-modern history more often than not. Used to be I had areas I resolutely ignored ( English history, American history ), but those days are long over. Pretty much anything can peak my interest now. But I’ll also admit a tendency towards traditional geopolitical histories and, as a subset, dynastic ( along with biographies ) and military histories. Fascinating little tidbit ( to me ) that I picked up the other day while reading on the toilet - the phrase “up shit creek” reaches back to at least Febuary 14, 1471 when it appeared in a lettter by a worried Louis XI, anxious about what one of his commanders had gotten up to. _“ait fait du hardi merdoux”_ > [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I’m obsessed with the Bubonic Plague, which from the 14th century to the 17th, killed almost 200 million people. Have you read The Black Death: _A Biological Reappraisal_ by Graham Twigg? Outdated now and, I think, largely disproven. But I found it fascinating at the time. An interesting article on the “plague deniers” and the rebuttals to their claims: [The Shifting Explanations for the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague in Human History — History News Network](http://hnn.us/articles/10949.html) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/44 "2008-12-19T18:55:21Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > … just this year I’ve been reading a bit of non-fiction about the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers. I hope you’ll take a look at (if you haven’t already) David McCullough’s _1776_, Joseph Ellis’s _Founding Brothers_, and Richard Brookhiser’s _Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington_, all of which are excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/45 "2008-12-19T19:03:41Z")
After I wrote my dissertation on the English Bibles of the 16th century, I was burned out of history for a couple years. Now I’d like to get back into Tudor England and the early Church of England. I have all the books already… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/46 "2008-12-19T19:23:04Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > After I wrote my dissertation on the English Bibles of the 16th century, I was burned out of history for a couple years. Now I’d like to get back into Tudor England and the early Church of England. I have all the books already… I’ve heard good things about this book, although I haven’t read it: [Amazon.com: God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible: 9780060838737: Nicolson, Adam: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Secretaries-Making-James-Bible/dp/0060838736/ref=pd_sim_b_1) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/47 "2008-12-19T19:40:04Z")
For some reason, the history of the United States in the mid-19th century fascinates me. The Civil War is a part of that, of course, but I’m particularly interested in the runup to the war: the Compromises, Bleeding Kansas, and so on. And as you might imagine from this, Abraham Lincoln is a favourite subject as well–not just his presidency, but also his law practice and legal philosophy. I also try to learn and understand as much local history as I can, depending on where I’m living. For example, I try to learn who the people who founded the city or town were, why they located it where they did, important events that helped shaped the place, and so on. It’s kind of fun to learn the local stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/48 "2008-12-19T20:17:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’ve heard good things about this book, although I haven’t read it: [Amazon.com: God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible: 9780060838737: Nicolson, Adam: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Secretaries-Making-James-Bible/dp/0060838736/ref=pd_sim_b_1) I read about that book when I was wrapping up my dissertation in 2004. My work was mainly on pre-KJV English Bibles, but I’d like to start looking at the KJV too, and I think Nicholson’s book might be a good starting point. Thanks for the recommendation! Of course, I’ve got about a million other books to read to get caught up now, too. I have one of the books listed on that page’s “Customers who bought this also bought…” and I haven’t even gotten around to reading it all yet. That would be grievous even if it hadn’t been written by my secondary dissertation supervisor ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/49 "2008-12-19T20:44:36Z")
I’m no buff, but I love to learn when the opportunity presents itself ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/50 "2008-12-19T20:50:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I hope you’ll take a look at (if you haven’t already) David McCullough’s _1776_, Joseph Ellis’s _Founding Brothers_, and Richard Brookhiser’s _Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington_, all of which are excellent. I’ve read _Founding Brothers_ and Ellis’s book on Washington, and I’ve read McCullough’s _John Adams_. I am planning to read _1776_. You’ve recommended Brookhiser to me before, and maybe you’re the one who recommended Ron Chernow? My husband read his enormous biography of Alexander Hamilton earlier this year and enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/51 "2008-12-19T21:22:05Z")
Yes, I think I did recommend Chernow to you on another thread. His _Alexander Hamilton_ is indeed terrific, and I understand that now he’s at work on a bio of Washington himself. Huzzah! I haven’t read his _Titan_, about John D. Rockefeller, but it got great reviews from just about everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/52 "2008-12-19T22:15:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Yes, I think I did recommend Chernow to you on another thread. His _Alexander Hamilton_ is indeed terrific, and I understand that now he’s at work on a bio of Washington himself. Huzzah! I haven’t read his _Titan_, about John D. Rockefeller, but it got great reviews from just about everybody. Our local used bookstore sells hardbacks and they get a lot of history and biography. We’re keeping an eye out for Brookhiser thanks to you. We found his _What Would the Founders Do?_ recently, and his much shorter biography of Hamilton, which I am more likely to pick up than Chernow’s. Do you have any recommendations for a biography of Jefferson? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/53 "2008-12-19T22:36:00Z")
I like to read about stuff when I decide I need to close a gap in my knowledge. I like history in general, so I never really get bored. A few years ago, I decided to learn more about American history, and I read several books on the topic. It was pretty interesting. I always become interested in the histories of places I visit, too. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/54 "2008-12-19T22:56:05Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Our local used bookstore sells hardbacks and they get a lot of history and biography. We’re keeping an eye out for Brookhiser thanks to you. We found his _What Would the Founders Do?_ recently, and his much shorter biography of Hamilton, which I am more likely to pick up than Chernow’s. Do you have any recommendations for a biography of Jefferson? I’m not a big fan of Jefferson, and haven’t read any stand-alone bio of him, but there’s a good short profile of him in _Founding Brothers_, as you know. Ellis’s _American Sphinx_ is often praised, as is Willard Randall’s _Thomas Jefferson: A Life_. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/55 "2008-12-20T08:05:56Z")
I like history in general, but my main focus is New Zealand history (which is also my bread and butter these days). When I want to kick back and relax, I tend to gravitate towards British and/or ancient history, these days. Before that, there was an interest in American stuff. Still there, but not as much now. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/56 "2008-12-20T11:03:39Z")
My interest is firearms, primarily those of the British Empire and Commonwealth militaries. I’m also interested in most pre- Vietnam War era firearms, regardless of nationality, but the British/Commonwealth stuff is my primary interest. I’ve had a number of articles published on various firearms, both “as-issued” military firearms as well as “famous” guns like Ned Kelly’s revolver. After that, I’m interested in Military History of the Gunpowder Era (ie, about 1346 onwards), and the history of Imperialism and Colonialism, with a focus on the 18th and 19th Centuries. In fact, most history is of interest to me, now I think about it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/57 "2008-12-20T11:09:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _Haig’s Command: A Reassessment_ by Denis Winter Little Nemo, you probably already know, but some of Winter’s books are questionable in their accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![History\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b19c9b/32.png) [@History\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/History_Geek)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/58 "2008-12-21T02:52:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _Haig’s Command: A Reassessment_ by Denis Winter Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/59 "2008-12-21T02:56:21Z")
You may also care to read “The Great War Generals on The Western Front 1914 -1918” by Robin Neillands. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811/60 "2008-12-21T16:02:19Z")
I love all history, and am a big fan of maps of different era’s, especially if there is some text accompanying them describing what is being shown. I have a love of Russian history, though there is so much of it it’s hard to get into extreme detail without getting bored. This interest may be an offshoot of my fascination with the Soviet front of WW2. Pretty much if it’s about the Soviet/Russian military, I’m interested. Been that way for probably 15 years now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-buffs-what-do-you-like-to-study-most/477811.md?page=4)